Improved machine for spinning metallic hollow ware



UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

JOHN GREY, AOF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IVMPVROVD MACHINE FOR SPINNING-METALLIC HOLLOW WARE.

specinpat'ion forming partof Letters Patent Nb'. 28.075, dated May 1, 1860.

To all whom it may concern/:

Be it 'known that I JOHN GREY, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in machines for making kettles and other hollow ware from disks or sheets vof copper, brass, iron, `and other ducvtile metals; and I do hereby declare the following to be 'a full, clear, and exact descrip.

tion thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Y Figure I'is a vperspective representation of v my machine viewed from the front end. Fig. li is a vperspective view of my machine viewed from the' rear end, and exhibiting the reverse side to that shown in Eig. I.A y

ln both figures like letters of reference denote similar parts of my machin-e.

The mode of manufacturing metallic hol-v low ware by the process which is called spinning has long been known and used, and has been applied to the formation'of various articles. lhis-v process consists in iplac ing a'plane disk of some ductile metal in' a lathe, and, vas the metallic disk rapidly revolves, pressing up' against it a tool, which is caused' to travel from the center (or near the center) of the disk-toward its circumference, the pressure of the tool being lsupported by a form or mandrel on the inside of the disk, and

the tool'thus traveling spirally over the disk, or,rather, the disk passingspirally under thel tool, the metallic disk is gradually contracted circumferentially, `and this process is repeated q until the necessary dish 7 is given to V'the sides of the kettle or other article 4to be manufaetured.

Several machines have been constructed, es

` pecally intended for the manufacture of brassi and copper kettles, which make use of the spinning processysbut which are liable to serious objections. To remedy or avoid these is the design of my improvements. ln some of these machines the metallic .disk is secured to a rotaryfo'rm of slightly convex shape, so

as to revolve with it, while the pressing-tool is caused to travel in a path corresponding with the convexity of the form from its center (or near it) to its-circumference, and thus by circumferential contraction oi' the. disk give to it y the degree of convexity which the form posseshsed. Another form is lthen` used in like manner, having a still greater degree ofconi -vexity, and the tool caused to travel over it as it rotates, giving the vdiska still greater con-f -vexityxor dish; and, again, a third form is used, a succession of forms being necessary,

each having a greater convexity than the last,

until the required shape is given to the kettle. This process is liable to the serious ob `iections that a separate series of forms must be had 'to suit each diii'erent size of the kettle to f be made 5; that the disk must be reinovedand a new form placed in the machine at each stage ofthe operation; that it is diiiicultto adjust the gradation in convexity of these forms to the degree to which the, metal will contract circuml'erentially at each-passage of the tool over its surface, so that a fornrmay happenlto be used having a greater increase of concouple of revolving tools or rollers'are used,

placed with their edges opposite to each other, between which the disk is made to revolve.

These rollers have both a positive motion on their axis, and are either of equal'dlameter and speed, or differ in diameter and speed. The disk is held between clamps in a rest and ,is inserted between the rollers. The rest; or.

carriage which supports the clamps lmay beset at any required angle to su'itithe dish given by each operation to the sides of the kettle, and as there is no form used nor support to the disk other than the bearing o f the face of the rollers against the disk opposite to each other, either the` rollers are made to recede from thediskor the disk fromthe rollers, so as to operate on thel diskfrom near its center yto its circumference. The objecf'A tions to thisv description of machine, are twofold: first, that-the disk not being supported except at the point of the grip lof the rollers#v it will crimp and not contractcircumferentially with su-ihcientl' uniformity to make the sides ofthe kettle straight; and, second, that unless the pivot or turninglpoint'of the adjustable clamp carriage or rest4 is exactly in the same vertical line as the edge of the bottom .of the kettle, (that is, the point where thecircumferential contraction of the disk commences to.

'form the sides,) the disk cannot be sol placed between the rollers after the dish of the sides has commenced as to be drawn-fthrou`gh the rollers without warping the kettle, and as the diameter of the bottoms of ke'ttles varies with the diii'erent sizes of the kettles, a machine thus constructed can only make in perfection that particular size of kettle which has a bottom whose semi-diameter is equal to the distance from the pivot of the clamp rest or carriage to a point in a vertical line passing through the center of the disk. Myimprovementsare, designed to -obviate these diiicuL.

ties,` and while 1 dispense` withvt'he use of a and am enabled so to adjust `the distance fof.

the center of the disk from the turning-point of the clamp-frame as to cause the side of the jkettle to lie parallell with and against theface of the mandrel-after the tool haspassed over it, no matter what degree of dish has been given to it by the operation f circumferential contraction. v

To enable others skilled in theart to construct` and use my improved machine, `I will todescribe its construction andfop eration. Y ,Y

-Inthe drawings, Figs. I and 1I, ais the man'- drei, being-a shaft oi'viron or steel of uniform diameter and suiicient length furthe required capacity ofthe" machine-that is, equal in length to the depth of any kettle.- required 'to be made on it. The outer end ofthe mandrel is free, the inner end being supported on a bearing inthe pillow-block b. The mandrel a `is either attached to or forms a continuation of the shaft c, which is supported by and turns horizontally l"on its axis in bearings in the blocks b b.- To the shaft c is attached a' pulley, d,.by which it is caused to revolve by means of a belt or gearing from asteam-engine or other prime motor. To the pillow-block b is attachedthe"clamp-f1'ame,consisting of two horizontal arms, ec, which are parallel With-J and equidistant fromA the horizontal mandrel a, and of two 4swinging arms, ff', whichare connected at their outer ends .bya cross-piece, g. The swinging arms ff and crosspiece g1 may be conveniently made ofon piece. The

swinging arms ff are pivoted at it" to the stationary arms c e.' Itis important that the pivots z' z" should be in the same vertical line, as shown by the red. dotted line in Fig. l,- and that the line it" should bein the same .verticalI plane as the end of the maudrelathat is, the horizontaldistance from the block b to the line t i must be exactly the same as the length of the mandrel a from the block b, because the extremity of the mandrel a must .extend along the face ofthe metallic disk k(from which the kettleis being made) to the edge of the bottom of thekettle, as seen in Fig. I, and no farthergand as the edgeof the kettles bottom' is the point where the dislr of the disk commences, which dish is regulated by turning the clamp-frame on its pivots t' "L" at each successive operation of the tool j, it is reql uisite, as before stated, that the line z' 'should be in the same plane as the end of themandrel a. A sliding bar, 1l, is attached to the swinging arms ff in a vertical position by screw bolts and `nuts nn, the boltspassing through horizontal slots p p in the arms f f,-' so that the sliding bar Z may be set at any required distance fromthe pivots 11 i', which distance must be the semi-diameter of the bot- -.1 tom of the kettle, because -to the sliding bar l is'attached, by the screw-bolt c, one of the clamps, m, by which the ldisk 7c is held in place. 4The other clamp, m',(seen in Fig. IL) is held in place opposite .to the clamp m by means of the arch q, through the vertex. of

which the rod r is placedi-n the line ofv'the centerof the inner clamp,m,a ndthe clamp is tightened. bymeans of the .thumb-screw s,n working -in a 'headpiece, t, which turns on pivots; so that the screws being loosened the head-piece t nay be' turned out of the wayt'o one side, leaving' a lclear passage for withdrawing the rod r,when theclamp m is loos-A cned to remove or replace the'disk k. Th'e' clamps m m have each a sleeve, n, (see Figi' IL) which serves as an axis into which the end Vof the rod?` is inserted,and o'n" which'it turns with the disk The face ofthe inner clamp, m', is in a linewth the outer edge of the man-y drel a, against which the disk rests when the swinging part of tlieclamp-frame is set straight with the machine, as in Fig. II, so that when' the disk is placed between the clamps m and m' and the swinging part ofthe clamp-frame is set straight the disk is in a vertical plane exactly. parallel to the axis of the shaft'c and' mandrell a,and coincident with the vertical plane touching the outer edgef the mandrel a-that-,is, the edge turned toward the eye -in Fig. .1. This position of the clamp-frame and disk in relation to the mandrel is seen in Fig. II. `On a suitable bed-plate, w, is set a sliderest, x, which carries the' tool j, the tool being a small steel roller projecting horizontally from an upright pillar, y, which hasa sliding ,motion on the slide-rest x at right angles to the,

axis of the mandrel a by means of the wrench siem fs, by which the tool is pressed up against or i withdrawn fromthe mandrel a at-pleasure, The axis of the roller or tool j is in the same horizontal plane as the axisot' the mandrel a,

sothat the tool presses fair against the man# drei, or against the disk, when interposed between it andthe mandrel a, as seen in Fig. I.

The slide-restar,l has a longitudinal motion par- "allel tothe axis of the mandrel a on the bedplate w by means of a screw, c', working-hori zntally under the bed-plate w, and through a lfemale screw in the lower part' of the slide- 'rst rv. The length of this longitudinal motion isequal to the length of the mandrel a, parallel therewith and opposite thereto, so

that the revolving of the screw a (which is turned by.means of the pulley d) causes the ltool j' to pass horizontally along the mandrel a from its extremity to the block-b and back- .ward by means ofthe pulley c'. The pulleys d and cf'evolve in opposite directions. (ln-- dicated by the arrows in Fig. I.) Beside each of the fixed pulleys d and c', by whichthe ,screw 'a' is turned, is placed a 'loose pulley, g', on which the belts are placed when the'screw is not desired to revolve. Thus, when the screw a is being turned by means of one of the fixed pullcys.the belt which is designed to work the reversing fixedpulleyis slipped onto its 1 loose pulley,'so as not to interfere at all with the operation of the tool.

sHavingthus-described'the construction of my machine, I will proceed to explain more gfnllyl-its mode of operation. The swinging 'armsf f ofthe clamp-frame being set straight,

or parallel to the axis'o'f the mandrel a, the circular disk k, ofbrass or other metal, is inserted between the clamps m by looseningthe thumb-screw s, turning the head-piece tto 'to the end of the mandrel a is just equal to theV semi-diameter of the bottom of the kettle to bemade. Thusthe tool.v presses against the disk lc just at the point where the formation of the sides 0f the kettle, by Adishing the disk,

is to be commenced. The shaft c is 'then set in motion in the direction indicated by the arrow n'the pulleyd, and by-means ofthe pulley c the screw a is also started, causing the tool to travel alongthemandrel a. The winch-handle z is turned so as to press the tool j close 4upagainst the disk k, with the requisite degree of, iorceto produce the spinning effect on the disk. As the mandrel a has a positive motion on its axis, and the disk is pressed against the mandrel by the'tool j, the disk revolves with the clamps m m'. The tool j also revolves on its axis, n ot with a positive motion, butby rolling contact induced by the revolution of the disk. As the passage of the diskbetweenthe mandrel and tool, vwhile the tool is slowly mov'-v ing toward the circumference lof the disk, causes the tool to describe a. spiral path over the whole surface of the disk outside ofthe circular bottom'of the kettle, (which is untouched by the tool,) the disk is elongated in a radial direction and contracted circumferentially, as before described. This gives a slight dish to the disk on the first operation, and permits `the,swingingpart of the clampframe to bepushedout of the straight line, so that the arms f f will form an angle with the arms e e of the clamplframe, equal to the dish of the disk, or the angle which the side of the kettle now forms with the bottom. As the acuteness of this angle, or the dish, isl thus increased on each repetition 4of the operation of the passage ofthe tool over the disk, so the inclination of the swinging part of the clampframe to the fixed part' is increased by pressing it'to one side by means of the handle h, and as the extremity of the mandrel a is al ways at the point on .the disk where the dish or angle commencesand as the Vline t' i (the center of motion of the swinging clamp-frame) is in thevsame plane as the extremity of the mandrel, andvery nearly coincident with the point at .the extremity of the mandrel which touches .the disk, (as seen by the redline in Fig. 41,) the ,disk will always lie close up against the mandrel, no matter Whatthe dish .of the sides of 'thev kettle may be, by simply pressing thehandle h away from the sideof 1 the machine on which the tool is situate, as

seen in Fig. I. When the tool has passed oncey over the disk, the winch e is turned so as to withdraw the-tool from contact with the disk, andthe motion of the screw a being rev.versed by means of the pulley d', the sliderest and its tool j lare slid back to their former position with the tool at the extremity of the mandrel. The motion of the screw is now again reversed, and the swinging clamp-frame being set at thel required angle, the tool is again caused to pass along the mandrel a over the disk toward its circumference. By repeating this operation until the required dish is given to the disk Ithe kettle is gradually 'formed into the proper-shape, the sides of the kettle being kept straight, and the unequal contraction ofy the metal being prevented by the use of the straight cylindrical mandrel.

. lf preferred, the mandrel may be m-ade lslightly tapering toward the extremity, but ,this-is not advisable, as it makes itnecessary tolset t-he mandrel-shaft c with its axis at the same angle to the axis of the-screw c of the slide-rest x, which'carries the tool j, as the face of the mandrel has to its axis, because the face of the mandrel turned toward the disk` must be exactly 'parallel to vthe path of 'the tool by which the metal is spun out against the mandrel. r

Having thus described my improvement in machinery for..spinn ing out metallic hollow ware, I do not claim the process of forming hol-A low 'ware from disks of metal by thelspi'nning cylindrical mandrelrevolving onits axis, of Usnicient length tosnstain ,the disk from the circumference to the point whereffthe operaltionofv the stool, commenoesn' in .combination with* a tool having a longitudinal motion parallel to the axis or face of the cylinder, and so arranged as -to compress the disk Abetween itself andthe mandrel, 'substantially as de-` scribed.' 1

2. In the combination of the swinging .clamp-frame, having `its center of .notion in the same Verti cal plane as the 'extremityof the mandrel, with the adj ustable bar or its equiva# lnt, forsetting. the clamps which 'holdlthen disk atany required distance from the exe tremity of'the mandrel, forlthe purpose of.

regnlatin gat pleasure the diameter of the -loottom of t-hekettle or'otheil article tovbe made,

lmandrel while the -tool'is passing over it, lno

matter what degree of dish i'sfvgiven to the disk'. In testimony whereof. the said JOHN GREY has hereunto set hishand in .presence of us.`

' JOHN' GREY. l. Witnesses; i

MARTIN G. CUsHxNG, THOMAS GREY. 

